Attorney-Adviser

Full Job Description

This position is located in the Immediate Office of the Inspector General (IG), which is responsible for providing Office of Inspector General (OIG) management and staff with legal advice, counsel, and representation on all matters related to program operations and management issues within the organization, in order to carry out the statutory responsibilities imposed by the IG Act.

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: All applicants must possess the following: Position requires the possession of the first professional law degree (J.D.) - AND - Applicants must currently be a member in good standing (as defined by the pertinent bar) of the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S.

territory, the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Proof of such membership and good standing must be submitted with your application materials.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, applicants must also meet the experience requirements below: For the GS-11 level: None For the GS-12 level: Applicants must possess at least one year of professional legal experience at or equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector performing duties such as assisting or conducting litigation, independently conducting legal research on or providing legal opinions/advice on matters involving the IG Act, USDA programs or legal authorities, criminal matters, the FOIA/Privacy Act, or Federal ethics authorities.

Major Duties:

• Assist and provide legal advice and findings in connection with a wide range of issues involving major USDA and OIG programs, policies and operations.
• Assist in the development of new/revised OIG policy and guidance on a variety of legal issues, including but not limited to issuance of OIG subpoenas, review of laws and regulations, legal processes, and ethics.
• Participates in all phases of litigation as agency representative/counsel for administrative matters and may serve as agency representative in civil and criminal cases when required.
• Handles ethics issues arising with respect to OIG employees and officials, and drafts responses to administrative appeals of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.